A woman who led a protest at a Minnesota church service has been arrested, Bondi says

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A woman who led an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church has been arrested, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Thursday.

Bondi announced the arrest of Nekima Levy Armstrong in a post on X days after protesters during Sunday service entered the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a local official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement serves as a pastor.

The Justice Department quickly opened a civil rights investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good," referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.

“Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP," the attorney general wrote on X.

Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and prominent local activist, had called for the pastor affiliated with ICE to resign, saying his dual role poses a “fundamental moral conflict.”

“You cannot lead a congregation while directing an agency whose actions have cost lives and inflicted fear in our communities," she said Tuesday. "When officials protect armed agents, repeatedly refuse meaningful investigation into killings like Renée Good’s, and signal they may pursue peaceful protesters and journalists, that is not justice — it is intimidation.”

Prominent leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have come to the church’s defense, arguing that compassion for migrant families affected by the crackdown cannot justify violating a sacred space during worship.

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Durkin Richer reported from Washington.